About

My name is Chuck McCarty. I am a veteran of the U.S. Air Force and the owner and builder of "Busted Knuckles Guitars." My dad was an auto and farm machinery mechanic and I started working with him, and usually got in his way, when I was around 10. After high school I joined the Air Force as a heavy equipment mechanic. After retiring from the Air Force I continued "pulling wrenches" until I retired. So for too many years I have had too many "Busted Knuckles," so hence the name of my guitars.

I'm a history buff and a few years ago I saw a picture of a Civil War soldier playing a cigar box "Fiddle." I did some research on cigar box insturments and decided to build a guitar. Here are a couple pictures of the first guitar I built and still play almost everyday. Since then I have made over a hundred Cigar Box Guitars and other instruments. Some of these now have new homes in Texas, Alabama, Tennessee, Canada and several other states.

All of my Cigar Box instruments are made from used Cigar Boxes that give each instrument a distinct look and unique "voice." No two are alike.